Raleigh, North Carolina – Residents across central North Carolina have only a few hours to prepare before strong to severe thunderstorms develop this afternoon, with damaging wind gusts expected to be the primary hazard between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. Some storms could arrive as early as 2 p.m. across the northern Piedmont and Coastal Plain, creating rapidly changing conditions for the evening commute.
According to the National Weather Service in Raleigh, the entire forecast area is under a Level 2 of 5 Slight Risk for severe thunderstorms today. Forecasters say damaging straight-line winds are the greatest concern, while an isolated tornado or two cannot be ruled out. The tornado threat is slightly higher across northeastern counties, and isolated large hail is possible mainly along and west of the U.S. 1 corridor.
Communities including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Sanford, Henderson, Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, Fayetteville and surrounding areas should be prepared for brief but intense storms capable of downing tree limbs, causing scattered power outages and producing hazardous travel conditions. The strongest storms are expected to develop during the late afternoon and persist into the evening before weakening overnight.
The National Weather Service notes that widespread significant severe weather is not anticipated, with storms below the threshold for EF2 or stronger tornadoes, hail larger than 2 inches or wind gusts exceeding 74 mph. Even so, individual storms may still produce localized damage.
Residents should secure outdoor furniture, charge mobile devices before storms arrive and have multiple ways to receive weather warnings, including Wireless Emergency Alerts and NOAA Weather Radio. Anyone with evening plans should be prepared to move indoors quickly if warnings are issued. Additional watches or warnings could be posted as storms organize later this afternoon.
